Maryland Slip and Fall Injury

If you were injured in a Maryland slip-and-fall accident on someone else's property, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries. Slip-and-fall accidents are among the most common kind of personal injury lawsuits.

Just as it sounds, a slip-and-fall accident occurs when you trip over or slip on something on the floor, then fall down and injure yourself. A slip-and-fall accident may also be known as a:

Trip-and-fall accident, when you trip over a foreign object

Step-and-fall accident, when you encounter an unexpected failure or hole while walking

Stump-and-fall accident, when you trip over an impediment while walking

Slip-, trip-, stump-, and step-and-fall accidents can occur from problems such as water, grease, ice, or food on a walking surface. They can also occur from a poorly maintained walking surface, including broken floorboards or crumbling steps, and in poorly lit areas.

Who Is Responsible for Your Maryland Slip-and-Fall Accident?

When there is a potentially dangerous walking surface, the Maryland property owner (or tenant) and the person who is walking on the surface bear some responsibility for preventing the slip-and-fall and avoiding injuries. The Maryland property owner must keep the property safe. Anyone who encounters a slippery or otherwise dangerous walking surface in Maryland must also exercise reasonable care to avoid hurting themselves.

In a slip-and-fall lawsuit, each party has some degree of responsibility. The injured party has to show that he or she exercised reasonable care when walking on the dangerous surface, and the property owner has to show that he or she took reasonable care to keep the property safe.

Note that according to Maryland law, if you bear any responsibility for your accident, you cannot recover any money from the other party.

Whether you live in Columbia, Ellicott City, Towson, Potomac, or elsewhere in Maryland, your Maryland slip-and-fall attorney can help you understand your legal options.

Slip-and-Fall Injuries at Work in Maryland

If you are involved in a slip-and-fall injury at work, you normally cannot sue your employer under Maryland personal injury laws. Work-related injuries instead would be covered under Maryland workers' compensation laws.

Compensation for a Maryland Slip-and-Fall Injury

All of your medical bills for treatment related to your slip-and-fall injuries

Any future earning ability lost due to your injury

The cost of hiring someone to do household chores that you're unable to do because of your injury

The repair or replacement of any property (such as eyeglasses) that was damaged or destroyed when you fell

Lost wages for time off from work (including time spent going to doctor's appointments and physical therapy)

Permanent disability and disfigurement stemming from the Maryland slip-and-fall accident

Emotional distress stemming from the accident

Any other costs you've incurred because of the accident

How Long Do You Have to File a Maryland Slip-and-Fall Claim?

Maryland law gives you three years from the date of your Maryland slip-and-fall injury to file a claim against the party at fault. (This is known as the statute of limitations.)

If you and your Maryland personal injury lawyer are unable to negotiate a settlement with the property's owner or tenant (or with their insurance company), you should consider filing a lawsuit before the statute of limitations runs out. If you wait more than three years to file a lawsuit, you will give up your right to sue the property owner or tenant for damages.

Where Do You File a Maryland Slip-and-Fall Lawsuit?

For Maryland slip-and-fall injury claims worth more than $5,000, you would file your lawsuit in the appropriate Maryland District Court.

If your Maryland slip-and-fall accident claim is for less than $5,000, you would file your personal injury lawsuit in the Maryland Small Claims Court that has jurisdiction.

Your Maryland slip-and-fall lawyer can tell you which specific court is the appropriate court to resolve your dispute.